EXIT ONLY!

Where in the world does a body have to travel to find the Entrance to the Exit? If you see a sign that says "Exit, " should you leave or should you come on in??? The answer is to be found in Seward, Alaska. The name of one of the most popular Glaciers in the state is "EXIT." You can hike in to it- right up to the edge, in fact, and that's just what we did! The pathway to the lower edge of the glacier was flooded out. The path to the next level of the glacial edge was flooded as well. So we hiked up, maybe a 2.5 mile round trip, to the edge of the glacier at a higher vantage and lookout point. It wasn't exactly running up and down Mount Marathon like the last time we were here in Seward (just for the day with Gary and Judy) but for us old coots it WAS a hike. But what a view and what an experience!
Factoid: EXIT glacier has retreated by 50 feet a year. Global warming? Not hardly. Whether you think global warming is fact or fiction or somewhere in between- EXIT glacier has been retreating by 50 feet per year- FOR THE LAST 200 YEARS! That's long before anyone claims that man's carbon footprint was doing damage to our environment. While I find the topic a fascinating one, the evidence never seems to be quite as overwhelming in one direction or the other as some would have us believe. But this is about a travelogue, not a science paper, so the discussion goes on....
Hiking in...and up...
getting closer...Hey, Titanic, look out, icebergs ahead!
Whoa, what a big one that is....

Click on pic below to see the people in front of the glacial edge to put the whole thing in perspective...
You want the science of the glacier, enlarge and read here below....